Kelantan Delights @ Sooka Central

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Bright Sunday morning and cloudy blue sky is definitely a recipe for a great day. I was in treat as Nuffnang’s Tastebuddies had invited us to experience authentic Kelantan cuisine with a modern twist at a local joint called Kelantan Delight.

Kelantan Delights Main Entrance.

A nice and comfy bench in case you need to wait for your table to be ready during peak hours. So thoughtful of them and I love the colours combination of the bench.

Wood Bench at Kelantan Delights

From the entrance, we spot its elegant but yet stylish infused with modern touch design that would capture the attention of the diners.

There is also Wayang Kulit also known as Shadow Puppet (a traditional performance during the olden days) painting on the wall which give a reminisce of the good old days.

This will be a great place for huge family gathering too..You can call up the restaurant and book the entire area for your family. Each table is well decorated and the creamy curtains does add more warm to the atmosphere.

Greeted warm with the service crew, we were lead to the table and served with a glass of their chilled Lemongrass drink. It does quenched our thirst and the lemongrass taste wasn’t too strong so it’s easily acceptable by everyone.

Lemon Grass Drink

The Managing Director, Mr. Saifi had graced us with his presences and gave a brief take on Kelantan Delight. The establishment was set up at Sooka Sentral about 6 months ago though the history of the establishment is longer. The idea is to serve authentic Kelantan region food infused with western techniques which appeals to tourist that apparently like it very much. Essentially the concept is simple but yet holds great potential to grow further and expand to global market. They have another branch established at Wisma Consplant, SS16. Subang Jaya.

Mr Safi, owner of Kelantan Delights

Without further ado, we got started with the entrees which are tasteful.

Tomyam Udang Kelapa Muda is the self-creation of Kelantan Delights. I love the Tomyam flavour which is quite unusual as it tilt towards salty but retains the usual sour and the spiciness comes after you swallow it.

Tom Yam Udang Kelapa Muda Shots, RM 21.50!!

The prawn is placed separately to avoid drowning the freshness and absolutely love it as they put a slice of coconut with it.

Tomyam Kelapa Muda with a thick slab of young coconut!

The second entrée is the Sirih Daun Kaduk (Also known as Mieng Kham). This entrée is influenced by Thai culture due to the Kelantan region close proximity to Thailand and it’s a popular appetizer among the Thai’s and it was said at Vietnam as well. The ingredients which comprised of some red onions, peanuts, young coconut shreds, chilli padi, ginger and a dash of sauce that is a mix of gula Melaka, assam jawa juice and is wrapped with daun kaduk which then is wrapped with fried cracker.

Sirih Daun Kaduk , RM 21.50

With such promising entrée, we’re looking forward for the mains as the service crew taking down the orders, icebreakers was ongoing to get everyone familiarize with each other.

Soon after the mains is served to everyone. I had ordered the Nasi Dagang Gulai Ikan which is quite decent.

Nasi Dagang Gulai Ikan, RM 20.00

The rice is served using the brown rice from Sg Golok, Kelantan with the serving of the gulai ikan which is normal while using Ikan Tongkol (Mackerel Tuna), the fish texture was rather dry and not too tender and I feel its too salty for my liking.

Thomas had ordered the Nasi Kerabu Ayam Percik which it was said that “Ayam Percik” is the most sought after Kelantanese dishes. The main is served with the blue rice which is a result of using the petals of kembang telang (butterfly-pea) flowers in cooking it, to top with coconut sambal and the “Ayam Percik” on the side with some serving of bean sprouts, shredded ginger, cucumber shreds, and keropok. The taste is marvelous as it is not too sweet pairing with the “Ayam Percik” sauce. However the chicken with the western style of cooking was slightly dry and the flavour were not properly infused with it however the percik sauce had made up for the flavour.

Nasi Kerabu Ayam Percik, RM 19.00

By the time we were done with the meal, everyone was showing signs of stuffed as the portions was just generous. Mr. Hatta (Service Crew Manager) had brought one of the restaurant specialty which simply known as Nasi Tumpang. There was a brief history on regards of it as the Nasi Tumpang was meant for farmers who sets out early daily and at most time, returns home late which hence the wife would pack the rice with leftovers dishes and wrap it up this shape. This Nasi Tumpang can be kept over night as the leaf help preserve the freshness of the rice and other ingredients. There is many variants of dishes in the rice which is stuff layer by layer onto the cone shape leaf.

Mr Hatta explaining the history of Nasi Tumpang

The “Nasi Tumpang” is comprised of shredded egg on the upper portion, which followed by Sambal Udang, Ikan Tongkol (Mackerel Tuna) Ayam Serunding (Chicken Floss), and the each dishes fills the glutinous rice layer by layer. I love the ketupat alike rice texture as it is soft and moist. The Ikan tongkol (Mackerel Tuna) taste good too, together with the ayam serunding (Chicken floss) is sweet n spicy.

Nasi Tumpang, RM 18.00 before unwrapping!

The rice also comes with side of the fried chicken which is much juicier and flavour infused with the marination as to compare to the “Ayam Percik” earlier. There is only 15 – 18 serving per day due to the time consuming effort to make it which takes up to 3 hours.

Nasi Tumpang, after unwrapping!

Serving up another main is the “Laksam Wan Siti Kembung”. The Laksam gravy is thick and slightly sweet. The noodle is made of rice and the texture is similar to the super fat and thick ho fun. Laksam gravy is made from blended kembung fish and several other spices with a hint of saltiness. The gravy is slightly rough due to the blended kembung fish. It is said that the gravy also comes with blended belut (Eel) variant on alternate days which is also one of their specialty. On top of the noodle is a variant mixture of raw cucumber, taugeh (Bean sprout), and kesom leaf.

Laksam Wan Siti Kembung, RM 14.00

While wrestling with the mains and taking some time to let the food settle down, we were enticed with the dessert which came out not long after the mains were cleared. At that moment, no matter how stuffed one can be, there is always room for dessert *Evil grin*.

We were served a plate of combination desserts which is looks quite differ from the name implies.

Lompat Tikam (Jump, Stab) is a traditional delight which is combination of the green pandan kuih and the red nasi pulut (glutinous rice). Overall the taste is rather bland however the combination is unique as the gula Melaka with santan milk which acts the catalyst that inspire the flavor between both. The Ketupat sotong taste slightly fishy which caught us by surprise as it was implied that if it was made savory or salty, then it would prolly will be better and If it’s made as an appetizer, it would be better instead of dessert.

Lompat Tikam & Ketupat Sotong

Overall it is unique experience with unique flavour and taste. I would thank Nuffnang for this unique savory experience.